INTERNATIONAL SYMPOSIUMS A N D WORKSHOPS

East-West Encounters by

Kumud Mehta Asst. Director, Programmes and Publications

The National Centre for the Performing Arts, Bombay, in cooperation with Max Mueller Bhavan, and in association with the British Council Division of the British High Commission, and organisations within the country such as the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, as well as the cultural wings of several Consulates, initiated a series of East-West dialogues involving composers, musicians, choreographers, dancers, theatre experts. philosophers and scientists who were invited to participate in an inquiry into the possibilities today of creative work and thought drawing from Indian and Western sources. The project involved seminars and workshops dealing with the f ields of music, philosophy, dance, visual arts and drama between 1983 and 1986.

East-West Music Encounter

While purists on both sides still maintain that any blending and integrating of different music cultures may well yield 'a salad of pseudo-ethnic music' (Alain Danielou). and denounce the need of a 'meridian music' after an accidental and oriental tradition (Kiarenz Barlow) and link such 'collage method to colonial thinking' (Luigi Nono). others point to Jazz as a cross-cultural product. Some composers have long ago begun breaking away from their national music language and d1splay an impressive plurality of national and supra-national approaches to ~ontemporary music creation. Non-European music has long fascinated composers l1ke Claude ·Debussy, Olivier Messiaen, and Jean-Claude Eloy in France. Ton de Leeuw in Holland. Roberto Laneri in Italy, Peggy Glanville-Hicks in Australia while

Dr. Georg Lechner. as Director of the Max Mueller Bhavan. the moving spirit behind the East-West Music Encounter, with (on his left) Dr. Kumud Mehta, Asst. Director, Programmes

and Publications of the National Centre. and (on his right) Pandit Bhimsen Joshi.

Ravi Shankar, A li Akba r Khan. Zakir Hussain in India have taken up the challenge of experimenting w ith Indian and Western music. It was, therefore, useful to examine ex ist ing cross-cultural music more closely, analyse its tools, materials and aesthetics rather than oft-heard opinions.

Throughout the eight days of the Music Encounter discussions ran at a high pitch. One stream was formed by the orthodox among Indian musicians and was represented by Fahim-ud-d in Dagar. At the other end were musicians representing the western idiom. Among them were Naresh Sohal, the eminent Indian composer who has settled in the West. and the distinguished Soviet composer, Andre Eshpai. A third stream consisted of musicians who, in one way or the other. drew their inspiration from both Eastern and Western musical sources. Peggy Glanville-Hicks, Vanraj Bhatia. Peter Michael Hamel. Michael Vetter, Peter Muller , Roberto Laneri, Neil Sorell, Terry Riley, E. James Arnold, Bernard Bel and Thomas Ross belonged to this category. Even when opinions clashed, the chance to discuss and assess the emerging situations in music in an open forum had a clarifying effect. More importantly, it was not so much a case of receptivity to ideas as to the music itself. In the final analysis, the music at the Encounter-Bhimsen Joshi's raga Yaman-Kalyan, Naresh Sohal's 'The Wanderer', Andre Eshpai 's Violin Concerto. Zakir Hussain's experiments in percussion. Terry Riley's 'In C', Pandit Ram Narayan 's raga Shri-transcended the verbal and spoke for itself .

Mr. Bernard Bel demonstrating on the NCPA 's Apple Computer to the participants of the East- West Music Encounter his Melodic Movement Analyser developed at the NCPA in

one of its scientific research projects.

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East-West Philosophy Encounter

& .-The opening session of the East-West Philosophy Encounter . At the end table are seated Mr. J. J. Bhabha. the NCPA Trustee-in -Charge, and Dr. Georg Lechner. then Director of the

Max Mueller Bhavan.

The East-West Philosophy Encounter was held from the 14th to 19th of November 1983. Discussions centred on whether science, philosophy, the arts and religion were mutually exclusive or mutually complementary . East and West were viewed as spiritual poles rather than as geographica l notions, and the difference tended to emerge as one between Western science and Eastern mysticism. 'The Part and the Whole' concept was analysed. The analytical and scientific method proceeds from part to whole while the organic approach holds that knowledge is not made up of isolated parts, the areas which science studies being only rei<Hive wholes. The Encounter was a valuable experience for the participants and the observers as well as for those who attended the public lectures. The speakers at the Encounter included Prof. A. Bharati of Syracuse University, New York, Dr. J . I. Cabezon of the University of Wisconsin, Prof. J . E. Charon of France, Dr. Alex Comfort. philosopher and Professor of the Neuro-psychiatric Institute, UCLA, Dr. Paul Davies. Professor of Theoretical Physics of the University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Dr. Walter A . Frank of the University of Bonn, Professor Ashok Gangadean, Professor Susantha Goonatilake. Dr. Stan islav Grot, Dr. Wilhelm Halbfass. Professor of Philosophy at Gottingen and Philadelphia, Dr. J . L. Mehta, Professor Emeritus of Philosophy of Banaras Hindu University and Hawaii University, Professor Klaus Meyer-Abich of the University of Essen, Dr. Elizabeth Rauscher of the J . F. Kennedy University, Professor H. J. P. Reitbock of Marburg University, Prof. Vieillard-Baron of the University of Tours and Prof. Scheibe of Gottingen University. The participants included Professors of the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research and other institutions.

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East-West Dance Encounter

The East-West Dance Encounter was held from the 22nd to the 29th of January, 1984. Thirty participants from India and abroad provided a forum for .a meeting of minds and exchange of information, when the basic artistic concepts, dance styles and work modes pertaining to India and the West"could be analysed. The contribution of Susanne Linke (from the Federal Republic of Germany) in infusing a mood of seriousness and commitment in the discussion was outstanding.

The participants from the West were enthralled by the beauty and vitality of Indian dance, but not quite aware of the crisis within it : the desire of innovation battling with the eagerness to stay within the precincts of the traditional form. The Indian participants and audiences were fascinated by the innovative and challenging elements in the performances from the West. The evening performances by Susanne Linke, Yamini Krishnamurti, Carmen DeLavallade, Sonal Mansingh, Astad Debao, Ileana Citaristi, Chitra Sundaram, Bharat Sharma, Sucheta Bhide, Mrinalini and Mallika Sarabhai (with the Darpana troupe), Uttara Asha Coorlawala, Patrizia Cerroni, Chandralekha and her troupe, Gerhard Bohner; Andreine Bel, Kumudini Lakhia and her Kadamba troupe, Stephen Long, Dominique Bagouet evoked a warm response and formed the subject of lively discussion in the closed sessions.

Distinguished dancers and choreographers from India and abroad in a lively discussion in the Recording Auditorium including Kumudini Lakhia. Chandralekha. Susanne Linke.

Carmen OeLaval/ade. Sucheta Bhide. Sharon Lowen.

Yamini Krishnamurti Susanne Linke

Mrinalini Sarabhai, Ram Gopal and Ma!!Jka Sarabhai

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East-West Visual Arts Encounter

The East-West Visual Arts Encounter was held from the 8th to the 14th of February, 1985. The situation in the world of twentieth century art mirrored in the antagonism betw een individual creativity and the demands of communication, the question of cultura l roots and identity formed the core of the discussions. Each of the twenty-eight participants, who made in the morning sessions, a statement on his or her style of expression, could be seen engrossed at work in the open workshop in the lawn of the courtyard in the Tata Theatre.

Notable among the Ind ian artistes who attended the Encounter were Manjit Bawa, N. S. Bendre, Bikash Bhattacharjee, Bhupen Khakhar, Tyeb Mehta, Prafulla Mohanti, Balan Nambiar, Jeram Patel, Piloo Pochkhanawala, S. A Raza , G. R. Santosh, Gulammohammed Sheikh and F. N. Souza. Among the foreign participants, Ernst Fuchs, Peter Kin ley, Wolfgang Laib, Robert Marx, Peter Nagel. Mark Prent left a lasting impression both through their comments during the discussions and their creative output. The panel discussion on 'Art Today', held in the Little Theatre, attracted a sizeable audience of art lovers. Of the films screened during the Encounter, Picasso, the Man and his Work (directed by Edward Quinn), Pas De Deux (directed by Norman Mclaren). Guernica (directed by Alain Resnais). Through the Eyes of a Painter (directed by M. F. Hussain), roused keen interest.

This East-West Encounter on the Visual Arts has been beautifully covered with authoritative article and selected illustrations in the book ARTISTS TODAY produced by Marg Publications, a division of the National Centre for the Performing

Arts .

Painters and sculptors from India and abroad in a joint working session on the inner lawn of the Tata Theatre.

East-West Theatre Encounter

The East-West Theatre Encounter, held from the 17th to the 25th of January, 1986, was regarded as one of the liveliest and most ambitious of the Encounters. It was attended by about thirty leading theatre practitioners from India and abroad, and the presence of fifteen troupes, with their directors, within the precincts of the National Centre, the fu ll and inventive utilisation of all the spaces within it (for discussions, rehearsals and performances) turned the Encounter into a memorable event. It became an occasion for ref lection on the diversity of theatre forms today as wel l as their coming together in (as yet) limited areas. The approach was not so much theory-oriented as performance based. The work and comments of Eugenio Barba of the Internationa l School of Theatre Anthropo logy, the acting prowess and sheer commitment of his artistes (lben Nagel Rasmussen, Richard Fowler) had an electrifying effect on the Encounter's proceedings and on audiences.

Jean-Claude Carriere's account of the genesis and actual performance details of Peter Brook's Mahabharata was both informative and inspiring . Farrukh Dhondy carried his li steners to the cultural cl imate of the United Kingdom and the problems of finding dramatic expressions to the life experiences of immigrants. The range of the discussions was w ide as well as concrete, sometimes focussing on the details of a dramatic presentation . The evening performances at the Tata

Smita Patll in Request Concert

and Experim ental Theatre attracted large crowds of theatre lovers·. The fare was uniforml y good and fa irl y va ried : t he Marathi version of Girish Karnad's Hayavadana, directed by V ijaya Mehta; V ijay Tendulkar's Ghashiram Kotwal. directed by Jabbar Patel; the Bengali version of Brecht's Puntila, directed by Sekhar Chaterjee; the Hind i adaptation of Brecht's The Caucasian Chalk Circle. directed by Fritz Bennewitz for the Rang Manda i, Bhopal ; Request Concert, a version of Xaver Kroetz's German play, directed by Alyque Padamsee, fea turing Smita Patil; Habib Tanvir's Charandas Char, in the Chhatti sga rhi f olk idiom; Ottayan.·a Malayalam play, directed by 1(. N . Panni ka r an d Bhisham Shahani's Kabira Khada Bazaar Mein. directed by M . K. Ra ina. One of Us. a solo perfor·mance of Meera Syal, an Indian actress based in London , roused keen in terest as did Peppe and Barra. a musical scherzo by the Italian troupe headed by Lamberto Lambertini ; I ben Nagel Rasmussen in Moon and Darkness, directed by Eugenio Barba, gave a most compelling performance, a fine example of contemporary W estern theatre.

Brecht's The Exception and the Rule was produced by Wolfram Mehring in English with local actors and was based on their workshop experience with him. Chak ravyuha, based on an episode from the Mahabharata and incorporating the mart ial arts of Manipur, won for its director Ratan Thiyam, the acclaim of both his peers and the spectators. The Encounter achieved its purpose, because, despite specialization, fragmentation. the differences in cultural backgrounds and language barriers, th e unifyi ng drive of the idiom of theatre emerged.

!ben Nagel Rasmussen in Moon and Darkness

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